Nothing To Gain Except Killing Your Brain

I have always been staunchly anti-drugs and have seen many, many lives wrecked and ended by them so it is depressing to read that deaths from drug use in England and Wales have risen by 11% according to the latest annual data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) with 5,448 fatalities in 2023 which is the highest number of drug-related deaths since records began in 1993.
Over half these deaths involved opiate misuse, such as heroin which accounted for the most deaths in the 40 to 49 age range.
The figures show that those born in the 1970s (Generation X) are more likely to die from drug misuse than any other age group and it is thought that the aging body is less able to handle the depressant effect on the body leading to a fatal overdose.
Men of any age outnumber women two-to-one in deaths from drug misuse as they always have since records began and men are more likely to use drugs than women and most deaths come from a single, fatal overdose.
Cocaine is the second-most used drug in England after cannabis and the ONS recorded the 12th consecutive rise in deaths due to the drug, 1,118 with deaths rising year-on-year which has been blamed on the purity of cocaine increasing which makes cocaine more potent.
Cannabis, which some countries are starting to legalise and is considered by some to be harmless, resulted in 32 deaths in 2023 and medical opinion is that cannabis comes with the risk of developing mental health issues and increases the risk of psychosis in some people and in 2023 a quarter of mental health cases were linked to cannabis use.
The UK government is funding research to explore reducing drug overdoses including wearable devices that would alert emergency services if an overdose is detected but the mdiea has a role to play as when a celebrity dies from drug abuse, their addiction is barely mentioned but it should be because it could drive home the message that taking drugs can be addictive and fatal, a lesson that needs repeating constantly.
We should highlight the pathetic way the famous die for their addiction, Whitney Houston and Matthew Perry drowning in their bathtubs, Prince slumped in an elevator, Michael Jackson and Tom Petty both alone in their beds, River Phoenix  and the ultimate in Elvis whose drug addled body was found dead on his toilet floor.
As one addict friend said to me as things spiraled away from him: 'When i could stop i didn’t want to and now that i want to stop, i can’t'.
He was found dead a few months later on Boxing Day having laid dead on his kitchen floor since Christmas Eve, tragically being unable to stop killed him.